Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe Page B

radishes and making little vegetable people and entering fetes and winning Nanny of the Year, while I watch the snooker and loiter in a car park with a ball, some delinquents and Tom Tomalin.
    AB came over after supper tonight. Didn’t want any leftover pie. Too excited for some reason. Then left early. I thought he might’ve been dressed up. But his dressed up is the same as his not dressed up, so who knows?
    Me: Was Bennett a bit dressed up?
    MK: No, he’s always like that.
    Me: His collar looked crease-free.
    MK: I never look below the chin.
    Hope all’s well with you. The R Patel thing is amazing, sad/happy (poignant, like a short story).
    Love, Nina
    PS Sorry to hear about the prang. The thing to say to yourself about prangs is, “It could’ve been a lot worse,” which it always could (and sometimes is). And it’s all part of the learning.
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    Dear Vic,
    Exciting this evening. AB came over with Russell Harty. And even though it was a strange time to be having a cup of tea, we had one. No one mentioned supper because it seemed too early, but we had chocolate digestives. Russell Harty was funny and told a joke but wouldn’t take his coat off. His joke was about Shakespeare and an actor playing Ophelia (none of us understood it except MK and she smiled and tutted).
    Then we all told him our jokes.
    Will: Bald man/comb/I’ll never part with it.
    Sam: Two pilots/loop de loop.
    MK: You have acute paranoia/I came here to be cured, not admired.
    AB: Doctor, Doctor/we needed the eggs.
    Me: I meant to say pass the salt/manipulative bitch, you’ve ruined my life.
    Anyway Russell Harty was cleverer and thinner than he seems on telly and said “doodah” (meaning “thing”) which we all liked. But wouldn’t take his coat off—as previously mentioned.
    Love, Nina
    PS Marks & Spencer chocolate digestives. Very crunchy, but you can feel the grains of sugar.
    *  *  *
    Dear Vic,
    Misty has shaved. She did it to surprise her boyfriend but he doesn’t like the look of it. Says it’s not how he expected(?). She’s philosophical but says the itching (regrowth) is driving her mad. She’s using a calming powder. And has advised us never to do it (shave). Says if she could turn the clock back she would (turn it back).
    Discussing bathroom routines: Misty said she shaves her legs (the whole leg) every other day. Pippa doesn’t bother with legs but is religious re armpits. I’ve not bothered with armpits since living in France where not shaving was the norm. Misty says I shouldn’t be influenced too much by what I saw there, especially as I live in England where men hate hairy women and would prefer them totally bald (bar the head). I am influenced though, especially as the armpit is such a tricky area to tackle with a razor.
    Thought of the time Misty had breakfast with Pippa. While everyone else was eating Rice Krispies, Pippa sat shaving her legs with a Bic, dry, there at the table. Misty said it put her off her breakfast.
    Which reminds me: we’re all envious of your outing to the Weetabix factory, not that anyone of us is a big Weetabix eater, but MK likes outings and S&W like factories.
    MK: Lucky them.
    Will: What will they see?
    MK: Weetabix.
    AB: At various stages of the manufacture.
    Will: Cool—it’s like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
    Me: They might win a lifetime supply of Weetabix.
    MK asked me to get some Odor-Eaters for Will’s trainers. I hate it when I have to get embarrassing stuff like that. I said Will should get his own Odor-Eaters but he says he hates going into Boots full stop and says he’ll just put them on the window sill. I asked Will why he hates chemist shops. He couldn’t quite put it into words. I guess it’s the potential embarrassment. It would be that for me (seeing someone you know with a wee sample or a personal problem).
    MK: Have you got the things for